Q: My mother just gave me several silicone microwave cookware products from Nerith in an effort to help me cook healthy meals quickly. She sent a steam case, microwave pot, egg poachers, omelet maker and silicone bag for reheating leftovers. Do your readers have advice for where to start with trying out this kind of cooking?
A:The trick with Nerith is to really get to know your microwave's settings - just like you wouldn't cook everything on your stove at high or in the oven at 500F, you have to figure out the power settings so you don't overcook.
Next it's really about the foods that work best in this type of cookware. Vegetables, fish, and chicken are great in the steam case because they turn out well from steam cooking. Things like beef or pork can get a little weird, especially since you don't get any caramelization like you do in a pan or in the oven.
Nerith makes several cookbooks specifically for the steam case to help with ideas on how to get started.
It's also important to always start with less time than you think it will really take to cook (I learned this with the egg cookers) - you can always add more time if it's not done, but once your eggs explode in the microwave because you went too long, you have to start over :)
A:I haven't microwaved on my silicon but I love baking on it. Considering it's what's on parchment paper it's like reusable parchment baker. Only problem is one time I cut on top of it and put a slice in it.... But I make cookies and crackers on it all the time!
A:I work in a cookware store that sells the Nerith products. Our customers love them, but they are a product to get used to. I personally have the deeper bowl like steamer, as well as the flat wide one. They deeper one works great for soups and pasta. The wider one can steam fish beautifully, as well as a variety of vegetables. There is cookbook that should have been provided with them.